The invention provides a method for treating neoplasias with .beta.-alethine. In particular, the invention provides methods for treating a variety of neoplasias which reduce tumor burden, inhibit tumor growth, and inhibit tumor intravascularization, for example from metastasizing tumors. .beta.-alethine has been identified as a compound inducing cell differentiation and modulating cell growth, phenotypic expression (including bioproduction and function), vitality, and longevity in copending application SN entitled "Beta-Alethine Use in Cell Culture and Therapy"; a correspondence between cell differentiation and reversal of malignancy has been suggested; see, for example, "Growth, Differentiation, and the Reversal of Malignancy", Scientific American pp. 40-47, January, 1986, and the publications cited therein.
The present application relates to the identification of .beta.-alethine as a non-cell-lineage-dependent anti-tumor compound, and the use of .beta.-alethine to induce normalization of the function of a variety of neoplastic cells, particularly for therapeutic benefits.